NCAA Division II National Championship
No. 9 ART U Urban Knights (17-5) vs No. 35 Concordia N.Y. Clippers (18-4)
Tues, May 8, 2018 at Noon
Surprise, Ariz. – Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex
Interactive Bracket
   
NATIONALS-BOUND
Academy of Art heads to the NCAA Division II National Championship for the first time in program-history. They punched their ticket after defeating Azusa Pacific (ranked No. 11 at the time) 5-3 in the Regionals match on April 28.  In the round of 16, they will take on Concordia (N.Y.) who was just bumped up to No. 35 in the nation after previously being unranked.
 
FIRST SERVE
The match will take place on Tuesday, May 8, at Noon back in Surprise, Ariz. The tournament will be played at the same location where the PacWest Championships were held: The Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
 
ART U at Nationals
Academy of Art heads to Nationals with a No. 9 ranking and their team touts multiple ranked players in both singles: junior Monika Stanikova (No. 11), junior Klara Thell-Lenntorp (No. 27) and doubles: juniors K. Thell-Lenntorp and Alma Thell-Lenntorp (No. 11). ART U ascended to Nationals on the back of the program's most successful season in its 10-year history: the team has gone 17-5 this year which included a stretch of three out of four wins in Florida against teams all ranked in the top-25. The Urban Knights also tied their best finish at the PacWest Championship (second) when they faced Hawaii Pacific (No. 2 at the time) in the final.
 
Academy of Art's first test against No. 35 Concordia (N.Y.) will be followed by a matchup against the winner of a contest between No. 1 Barry and No. 12 Drury. The Urban Knights have yet to face off with Drury, but they did take on Barry (No. 4 at the time) earlier this season and fell by the score of 8-1.
 
Should ART U advance to the semifinals, they will contest one of four teams: No. 7 Northeastern State, No. 39 Indiana (Pa.), No 6 St. Mary's (Texas), or No. 3 Columbus State.

CLIPPERS IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY
After defeating No. 39 Goldey Beacom College 5-2 in their East Regionals match, Concordia (N.Y.) advanced to the round of 16 for the sixth time in 10 years. Their most recent trip to Nationals was in 2016 where they fell to Drury 5-1. The Clippers have never gone beyond the second round at Nationals which they have reached twice before (2009, 2011). This season, they are 18-4 and they enter the tournament on a 6-match winning streak. Concordia does not have any ranked singles or doubles players.
 
PREVIOUS CONTEST: ART U PUNCHES TICKET TO NATIONALS WITH WIN OVER APU
April 28 - As they say: the fourth time is the charm. After defeating No. 11 Azusa Pacific in their fourth NCAA Regionals appearance, No. 10 Academy of Art is headed to Nationals for the first time in program history.